What I wanted most
by Reiki Shutuagi
Summary: Christmas time... The time of year conjuring those dark memories. All that you wanted was some peace of mind... Not with these people not, not with that man around. Not with what has happened. You cannot escape the days. Post-Episode 25 Spoils/TigerxBunny
1. 01 Promise is debt

**STORY TITLE: **What I wanted most...  
><strong>FANDOM: <strong>Tiger & Bunny  
><strong>RATING:<strong> T  
><strong>GENRE:<strong> Hurt / Comfort, Friendship, Fantasy / Supernatural  
><strong>CHARACTERS:<strong> The Main Cast for the most part  
><strong>SYNOPSIS:<strong> Christmas time... The time of year conjuring those dark memories. All that you wanted was some peace of mind... Not with these people not, not with that man around. Post-Episode 25/Spoilers  
><strong>NOTICE:<strong> Post-Tiger & Bunny Episode 25, after the 1 year time skip, after T&B are partners again (in fact... you could say it's right around the same time as the ending since the ending is during Christmas time); K/B; still T Rating (nothing _serious_... *cough*)  
><strong>DISCLAIMER: <strong>_**I do not own any of the characters, the setting, the original story to Tiger & Bunny! This is a non-commercial fan work based on the anime series TIGER&BUNNY. Everything trademark and copyright © 2011 SUNRISE, T&B PARTNERS, and MBS.**_

* * *

><p><strong><span>What I wanted most...<span>  
><strong>**#01 Promise is debt.**

"Ehhh?" Kotetsu folded his arms in disbelief. "What do you mean we have to put on a Christmas Eve show?"

"Ratings, Wild Tiger!" Agnes snapped. "There haven't been that many crimes lately so I came up with an idea to get us ratings. You Heroes will put on a show Christmas Eve. It will be a live event! We will have various songs performed by all of you." She looked in the direction of where Kotetsu and Barnaby were standing then to Karina. "I believe it will be a good idea to release a CD from the event as well."

Kotetsu sighed. "Christmas is in a week...! Isn't this a bit late?"  
>"Are you saying you are not up for it?"<br>"Of course I am up for it!"  
>"Good."<p>

Agnes started for the exit from the training area. "All of you in the main ice rink at one."

"A live performance..." Antonio muttered.  
>"It shall be a spectacular event!" Keith shouted.<br>"It shall be... interesting." Pao-Lin looked over at the duo and then at Karina.

Suddenly there was a beep sound and Kotetsu looked up.

"_Heroes, there is an armored vehicle speeding down the roads in the Silver Stage. Move out immediately!"_

Everyone nodded to each other at Agnes' announcement and headed off.

* * *

><p>"<em>There are reports that the person in charge of this crime is a NEXT."<em> Agnes spoke to all of the Heroes. _"We are not sure about the full extent to their abilities; be on guard as you move in!"_

Helicopters soared in the sky as night settled down on the city. Barnaby steered the motorcycle past other civilian vehicles on the road to catch up to the armored one up ahead. Suddenly there was a flash of light as the two partners heard a clang on the road.

"A flash! Bunny, steer from right behind the truck!" Kotetsu spoke. Barnaby did as the man said for once and steered up to next to the truck.

"_Barnaby Brooks Jr. and Wild Tiger are the first on scene with the armored vehicle!" _The announcement went through television sets throughout the city as well as on the big screens set up in the plazas.

Kotetsu stood up in the currently attached side car and his suit started glowing green; the activation of Hundred Power. He jumped over Barnaby and landed on top of the armored vehicle. Unconcerned with any costs, he punched through the roof as quickly knocked two of the criminals unconscious. Another man, one wearing a ski mask to cover his entire face, looked up at the veteran Hero and his eyes flashed blue.

Kotetsu's eyes widened as he flew back from the truck.

"_It seems like Wild Tiger was flung off of the vehicle! Is it possible that the NEXT in question has the abilities to push people and other objects off?"_

Kotetsu muttered a curse to himself and ran as quick as he could to catch up with the vehicle. He jumped up on the back, grabbing on one of the back door handles of the gray steel truck. Smashing the door at the end of his limit, he made sure to hang on to the other handle as the NEXT inside tried blasting him away again.

"Go away, nuisance!" The man shouted, the blue glow around his body still steady. Kotetsu gripped the door as hard as he could, trying to hang on from flying backwards.

"Kotetsu-san!" Barnaby tried pulling the motorcycle back to get the attention of Kotetsu. Suddenly the man, hanging on as hard as he could, moved his leg up and kicked the NEXT into the front seat of the vehicle. He got himself steadied in the back when suddenly there was a flash of lightning before his eyes. He flew backwards onto the road, scratching parts of his armor.

Barnaby's eyes widened from behind his helmet. Ignoring the criminals still driving, he turned his direction and drove to where Kotetsu fell onto the road. "Kotetsu-san!"

"_It seems like Wild Tiger was hit by what was apparently a second NEXT inside of the vehicle! We caught a glimpse of lightning hit the Hero. Now comes Fire Emblem in for the attack!"_

Nathan drove up in his car and started shooting fire at the vehicle when suddenly Pao-Lin dropped on top of said vehicle and jumped through the hole Kotetsu made and shocked both of the NEXT conscious inside of it. She stopped the vehicle.

"_It looks like Dragon Kid has made the arrest!"_

Ignoring all the commotion of the arrest, Barnaby jumped off of the Lonely Chaser and knelt beside his comrade and partner. "Kotetsu-san! Kotetsu-san!"

The man did not make a movement, his breathing seemed slowed, his eyes stayed closed.

"K-Kotetsu-san?" Barnaby was getting desperate that his partner was not responding to him with movements nor speech.

"_What is it we have here? It seems like Wild Tiger has been downed from the attack by one of the NEXT that has been arrested!"_

"What happened to him?" Agnes demanded.

"What happened?" The rest of the Heroes joined Barnaby at Kotetsu's side. Sky High looked down. "Wild-kun?"

"We have to help him now!" Barnaby shouted, looking up at the rest of the Heroes.

* * *

><p>Barnaby sat at the bench, elbows leaning on his knees, his back hunched and his head down. He fiddled with his fingers before finally putting his hands together.<p>

"Do you know what happened yet?" He pulled his head up and saw Karina, still in her Blue Rose costume, walking over to him. He shook his head. "They do not know yet and I cannot visit him as of now."

Karina looked at the door to where Kotetsu was currently being looked after in. "I wonder what happened to him..."

"All I know is that he would not respond to me when I tried calling out his name. And that he was attacked with lightning by another NEXT that was in the vehicle earlier. There were not any bad external injuries, his suit wasn't even damaged that badly except a few marks in his shoulder area where the lightning seemed to have hit." Barnaby spoke as much as he knew. "He may have been hurt in that area. Other than that, no damage... Nothing else was clear enough without any examining as to why he was unresponsive."

Karina sighed but then asked the man, "Why were you guys coming to help us? I thought you were helping the Second League Heroes..."

"They _insisted_ they could go get a few thieves and told us to come out to help you guys." Barnaby stood up just as the door opened and a doctor exited.

"Please tell me you know what happened to Kotetsu-san." Barnaby looked right into the man's eyes. The man shook his head. "We do not know yet... I can say that he was bleeding in the right shoulder. The entire time we worked to seal the wound he was unresponsive. His body was not moving at all except for his light breathing. He did not speak a word nor did he move his body."

Barnaby closed his eyes. Karina looked at him, worried. "I see... Can we see him?"  
>"Not a problem at all." The doctor put his arm out and Barnaby entered the room with Karina.<p>

Much of the upper part of Kotetsu's suit was torn, somehow. There were bandages across part of his chest and his right shoulder much like when he had been attacked by Lunatic. Barnaby grimaced; remembering the event.

Kotetsu's eyes were shut, closed. The only part of his body moving was his chest, up and down, slowly as he breathed. Barnaby put his hand on the man's chest. No response from his partner. "Kotetsu-san... I know you have to wake up."

Unlike the last time Kotetsu had fallen unconscious, Barnaby knew he was breathing. Especially, last time, it was much to the older man's dismay that they had forgotten to check his pulse a year ago.

Barnaby sighed. "Something is wrong; the lightning attack must have done something. It would not have, I know it would not have, made Kotetsu unconscious. Last time when he was attacked and his right shoulder was bandaged, he did not during the attack nor after it."

Karina closed her eyes for a moment and put her hands over Kotetsu's hand as it rested at his side. She stood up and headed to leave. "Will you be coming back later?"

Barnaby did not answer for a moment. "...No. I am going to stay here with Kotetsu."

Karina nodded. "I understand. Please tell us if anything happens."  
>"Will do..."<p>

Karina exited and walked off down the hallway to go change back into her normal civilian clothes.

Barnaby looked at Kotetsu again, setting his eyes on the man's face. He did not turn away, he did not blink as much as he could. He just wanted Kotetsu... to wake. To open his eyes and see his partner there next to him...

"Is it possible your very life is fading away with your powers...?" Barnaby muttered, his hands gripping Kotetsu's hand. His voice was hoarse, full of sadness. He was about to cry...

"_I couldn't keep it, could I?"_ Tears dripped from the man's face as he gripped Kotetsu's hand as hard as he could without any attempts to break it. He gripped his hand; afraid to let go as if he would lose Kotetsu...

"_The Grim Reaper can't have you. Now is no time to lose yet."_

** #01 Promise is debt.  
><strong>** 約束は約束**


	2. 02 Even monkeys fall from trees

**What I wanted most...****  
>#02 Even monkeys fall from trees.<strong>

"B... Bunny...?" Barnaby rose his head. He had fallen asleep with his head leaning on Kotetsu's body. He stared at the source of the voice. The man looked at him with a confused look on his face, wondering where he was and wondering what Barnaby was doing sleeping there. Barnaby's eyes suddenly lightened up. "Kotetsu-san!"

Barnaby suddenly wrapped his arms around Kotetsu as soon as the older man had started to sit up. He felt the urge to do so and did not let go. "Kotetsu-san...! Everyone was worried, I was worried about you."

"L-Let go please~!" Kotetsu spat out, attempting to stop his partner from squeezing him to death. Barnaby sat back in his chair, relieved with a sigh. Kotetsu looked at him with a slightly more serious look than the curious one he had given. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Barnaby looked at him.

Kotetsu shook his head. "What am I doing here? Why am I wrapped in bandages?"

Barnaby sighed, more of an angered one that he had to explain. But he did explain to his partner.

"Last night we were with everyone else trying to stop an armed vehicle. There were two NEXT inside of the vehicle. He stopped one of them and the two other criminals in the vehicle. The other NEXT must have fired some sort of lightning at you. You flew backwards. Your body did not respond to us and you did not speak. You were unconscious. No matter what we tried you didn't do anything. Until this morning."

"I see..." Kotetsu fell backwards on the bedsheets and pillows. He grinned slightly. "Did I worry you that much?"

Barnaby punched him right into the chest. "Don't mess around! It was serious!"  
>"Ch-ch...! Sorry..." Kotetsu stared at the ceiling. "No matter how high you climb, you gotta find a way down."<p>

"Excuse me?" Barnaby looked at him.  
>"Nothing. Just an old man talking to himself..." Kotetsu smiled. He sat up again and stood. He looked at his torn suit. "I guess Saito-san has to make another one again..."<p>

"At least your armor wasn't destroyed." Barnaby made sure that Kotetsu could stand perfectly fine. It seemed like the only extent of damage to his body was his right shoulder. "Like last year."

Kotetsu sort of laughed. "I hope you better have checked my pulse this time, too!" Kotetsu put his left arm around Barnaby's shoulders. "You hear me? I don't want ya freaking out because you forgot to do such a thing!"

Barnaby shook him off. "I did not get scared, thank you very much."

Kotetsu grinned and exited the room.

* * *

><p>Kotetsu later entered the training area with his normal clothes on. Barnaby followed him, suddenly asking a question, "Kotetsu-san! Are you sure you will be okay to participate in the Christmas Eve event?"<p>

The man wove at him. "I'm fine!" He suddenly grabbed his right shoulder. "Owowow!"  
>"Don't fall from that tree before you get the chance to to climb down." Barnaby wove to the Heroes with a smile. Despite being part of the Second League Heroes, he and the Wild Tiger tended to spend their time with their old friends and rivals.<p>

"Are you okay?" Karina asked in a certain tone, eager for an answer, hoping the person she cared about will recover perfectly. Kotetsu smiled. "I am fine!"

Karina still looked at him with a concerned look. "Your shoulder?"  
>"It'll be fine!" Kotetsu wove at her, signaling for the girl to get off of the topic of his injury. "What about the rehearsal...?"<p>

"Oh man, I forgot!" Antonio shouted. "It's twelve now, so in an hour! Come on!"

Antonio quickly grabbed Kotetsu's right arm and ran down the staircase.  
>"O-Oi! Let go of my arm! At least grab my left arm dammit!" Kotetsu tried yelling but Antonio did not hear him, that, or he simply was ignoring his friend. Shortly after the man had left, everyone else followed, dressed in their normal civilian clothes.<p>

* * *

><p>"Okay, everyone!" Agnes watched as the Heroes lined up on the ice. "Yes, you all are expected to skate!"<p>

Barnaby sighed slightly. Kotetsu nudged him. "I can teach you!"  
>"Brilliant..." Barnaby sighed again, giving his partner a look.<br>"H-Hey!" Kotetsu complained.

"If you two are _finished_..." Agnes sighed as the two looked at her, Kotetsu with his arms at his sides, trying to act as if he were obedient. "All of you will be skating on the ice for a few of the performances. For the other songs and shows, you all will be behind stage as the ones performing are on stage. I am indeed open to any ideas for songs or skits."

"Kotetsu can play something." Barnaby nudged Kotetsu. "He can play the guitar."  
>Kotetsu nudged Barnaby. "H-How do you know that?"<br>Barnaby nudged Kotetsu again. "I can hear you playing."  
>"Eh?" Kotetsu blinked.<p>

Ever since returning to Sternbild, Kotetsu had been staying with Barnaby in his apartment. Although the latter had very little idea that the man had intended on returning to be a Hero to help the Second League Heroes. He himself then returned with his partner, Wild Tiger, nearing Christmas. It was a miracle of sorts... Kotetsu's power was drained to just a mere minute, but his partner was there to assist him. They were best friends and great partners, after all.

Kotetsu sighed.

"Is that true, Tiger?" Agnes looked at him.  
>"Yes..." Kotetsu muttered, already aware of where this would lead.<br>"Perfect!" Agnes smiled. "Now we can have our duo sing songs together! You can play guitar and he can sing! It'll be perfect for ratings..." She grinned now.

Kotetsu rolled his eyes and hit Barnaby in the should a bit playfully. "Nice going...  
>Barnaby smiled.. "Come on, <em>partner.<em>"  
>"Skating first."<p>

Kotetsu and Barnaby walked over and put skates on.

"Now, for the rest of you..." Agnes continued on speaking. "Oh, yes, you two!"

The two partners looked over.  
>"You two will have another song with our dear Blue Rose!"<br>"What...?" Karina looked at the woman.  
>"Whatever..." Kotetsu sighed jumping onto the ice. Barnaby smiled and followed the man.<p>

Kotetsu spun around on the ice, jumping back and forth, landing perfectly each time. Barnaby tried following him, falling over onto the ice. "Dammit, Kotetsu-san...! How do you make it seem so easy?"

Kotetsu skated back around and stopped in front of Barnaby. "I dunno. I guess you learn it and then it seems easy. I've had a bit of practice and skated with Tomoe. My kid can skate too, you know."

"Yes..." Barnaby tried standing back, only to fall over backwards. "I saved her at the ice rink."  
>"Oh yeah..." Kotetsu smiled. He leaned down and and held his hand out to help Barnaby stand up. "Balance on the ice before anything else. Before you even <em>move<em>, learn to stand on the ice without falling!"

Kotetsu tried getting Barnaby to stand. When that was finally done, he showed Barnaby basics and balancing while moving. Eventually he got a hand of most of the basics and started following Kotetsu around the rink, occasionally slipping. His friend skated with his hands behind his back, acting casual and jumping around a bit.

The man turned to Barnaby and smiled. When he turned back, he ran right into a certain Hero. He fell backwards, opening his eyes with a bit of blur. "What the hell, Bison?"

Antonio smiled. "You need to pay more attention when skating. Ice is hard."

Kotetsu muttered a few curses to himself before standing up. Barnaby stopped as soon as he reached Kotetsu on the ice. He slid to a stop in front of Antonio.

With the two standing side by side, Antonio examined the two and asked, "Who is taller?"  
>"I am." Barnaby said. He could hear Kotetsu murmuring something under his breath. "What was that?"<br>"Nothiing~" Kotetsu shook him off.  
>"Kinda weird that the shorter of the two has longer legs." said Antonio.<p>

The two partners exchanged looks until Barnaby said, "I agree. Especially when I majorly kick and the old man here punches. You would except the one with longer legs to kick, correct?"

"Correct." Antonio nodded. "Role-reversal...?"  
>"No thank you!" Kotetsu started skating off, jumping and spinning without failure.<br>"How can he skate like that?" Barnaby asked.  
>"His late wife, Tomoe, taught him. She could skate, and as you probably know, his daughter Kaede can skate as well."<p>

Barnaby put one hand at his hip. "I can't believe someone like him managed to find someone..."  
>"That's a story for another time..." Antonio smiled.<br>"Kotetsu-san is strange..." Barnaby sighed slightly, but he smiled. "A strange old man... Did he tell you why he retired?"

Antonio nodded, slightly frowning now. "He told us all why he decided to retire originally. He is one of those rare cases where a NEXT starts to lose their powers. A bit more than a year ago, he started to lose his powers." He watched as Kotetsu jumped across the ice, waving to the other Heroes as they watched. "It sucks when someone like him loses his powers. It sucks for a NEXT that, all he wants to do is help others, to lose his powers like that."

"Now he is only down to a minute left on Hundred Power..." Barnaby folded his arms as a cold breeze went by. "The doctors said the decrease in his limit has slowed down dramatically compared to last year. But, he is still likely to lose more and more time before he finally loses his powers permanently."

"_Even after I lose all of my powers, I will still continue to be a Hero. I will protect others."_

Barnaby sighed. "He will still continue to put himself in danger for the sake of helping others. Someone who considers everyone else before himself in a situation. He would die to help somebody, wouldn't he?"

"Knowing Kotetsu?" Antonio looked at the younger Hero. "Most definitely. He told me it was his promise after all."

Antonio sped off after Kotetsu, who was standing at the other end of the rink talking to the other Heroes. Barnaby stood where he was for a moment. "Promise?" He finally followed Antonio.

"Wild-kun! Where did you learn it?" Keith asked cheerfully.  
>"My dear Tomoe before she got sick." Kotetsu tried smiling. "My daughter can skate too."<br>"I remember when you told us! Blue Rose quite lost it!" Nathan shouted.  
>"I-I did not!" Karina yelled. "I just find it hard to understand an idiot like him could get a woman!"<br>"H-Hey! I'm right here!" Kotetsu complained as Antonio and Barnaby skated over.

All of the Heroes exchanged a laugh before Agnes came over and handed them all papers. "Here are all of the songs for the performance. Most of them are some old time Christmas songs people will be sure to sing to. I hope you all can give some sort of twist to them to get the crowd going!"

Kotetsu growled a bit. "I have three songs with Bunny? How do you know we can get a long for this right?"  
>"I can trust you two." Agnes looked at the man.<p>

Kotetsu fixed his hat. "Unbelievable..."

Agnes coughed to get their attention again. "We will meet again tomorrow in one of the studios to practice songs. Especially those—" Agnes looked at Kotetsu. "—Who can play instruments. You will need some practice with those you will perform with to get instruments and vocals right."

Kotetsu rolled his eyes. "Is this it for today?"  
>"Yes." Agnes nodded.<p>

Suddenly Kotetsu felt a pain in his shoulder. He tried to ignore it but then images started appearing. A ghostly figure, black and a pale gray, started appearing in his surroundings. Nobody seemed to see it. The figure even appeared in front of a few of the Heroes. They did not see it. Only Kotetsu seemed to be the one to see the figure.

He backed up, sliding back to a stop on his skates. Looking for his own reflection in the ice, he only saw the figure looking back at him. Blood red eyes. That is all he could make except the ghostly shroud around the person. Kotetsu fell backwards hard on the ice. He glanced upwards to see everyone looking at him. His eyes widened, seeing the ghost with his arm wrapped around Barnaby's neck with blood dripping.

"Kotetsu-san?"  
>"Wild-kun?"<br>"Tiger?"

Everyone tried calling at Kotetsu with the various names or nicknames they had for Kotetsu.

Kotetsu fell backwards, his back slamming on the ice. He closed his eyes in fear. He felt something tearing at his very heart. He did not open his eyes.

"K-Kotetsu-san!" Barnaby shouted.  
>"Call an ambulance immediately!" Agnes told the crew that was with the Heroes.<p>

**#02 Even monke****ys fall from trees.  
><strong>**猿も木から落ちる**


End file.
